Early reports from the Accident Investigation team as to the cause of the Alentejo air crash on June 19th, which killed the Belgian pilot and injured four of the seven skydivers onboard, indicate the structure of the aeroplane simply disintegrated in mid-air.
Three of the parachutists were unconscious when they fell from the Pilatus PC6 at around 7,000 feet but were saved by their parachutes which automatically opened due to a fail-safe barometric trigger.
The other four passengers managed to jump from the aeroplane and open their parachutes manually.
The pilot who died, Jérôme Louis, plummetted to the ground in what remained of the cockpit of the aircraft and crashed about 400 meters from the main fuselage crash site without having had time to trigger his parachute, according to initial findings.
"The structural disintegration of the aircraft in flight is the first hypothesis for the main cause of the accident," said Álvaro Neves from the Accident Investigation team, noting that four of the seven parachutists were injured, two serious and two only slightly.
The Pilatus PC6 model operated by Aerovip took off on June 19th on a cloudless day with a light wind and temperature around 32°C from the Figueira de Cavaleiros Aerodrome in Ferreira do Alentejo, Beja.
According to one of the parachutists, during the initial climb at the rate of 1,000 feet per minute and just past the 7,000 feet mark, he heard a noise of tearing metal and “suddenly, the entire rear of the structure disintegrated."
Witnesses on the ground said the aircraft, began to rotate on its axis, with parts raining down onto a wooded area of a private property.
The aeroplane continued to break up until it hit the ground with fragments later found over a wide area.
The Pilatus PC6 had a capacity for 10 people, had German license and belonged to a private German operator but was being used by 7Air Group, which owns the Aerovip air service and the skydiving company Skyfall.
Skyfall and 7Air Group have praised the "professionalism and selflessness" of the pilot, stating that his actions contributed to saving lives.
The pilot's body was found with his parachute unopened.
For the original news report, see:
http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/9167-alentejo-air-crash-explosion-theory-being-investigated
